This invention relates generally to the field of artificial fishing lures, and more particularly relates to such lures which are constructed to simulate live prey upon which the fish feed, with the lure simulating the prey both visually in shape and configuration and in movement as the lure is pulled through the water. Even more particularly, this invention relates to such lures which are designed to simulate a squid, such that the body is generally cylindrically shaped and a large number of simulated tentacles trail from the body.
A number of fish which are sought for sport or for eating are natural predators of squid, such as for example the kingfish. It is therefore well known to fashion artificial fishing lures with the shape of a squid. Such lures are constructed with a generally cylindrical- or torpedo-shaped body. The line is attached to or through the nose or front end of the body, and a relatively large number of thin, elongated, flexible members, often called a skirt, are attached to the rear of the body to simulate the tentacles of a squid. Such lures and variations thereof may be used for many types of fish, whether such fish naturally include squid in their diet, and whether the fish are inhabitants of salt or fresh water, since the visual appeal of the slim body and undulating skirt members of the lure in itself may be sufficient to attract fish strikes.
Examples of similar lures, some illustrating bodies only with no trailing tentacles or skirt members, are found in numerous U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,567 issued in 1930 to Newell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,089 issued in 1992 to Schriefer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,542 issued in 1988 to Floyd, U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,831 issued in 1997 to McWethy, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,226 issued in 1952 to Yoshii, U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,067 issued in 1986 to West, U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,948 issued in 1992 to Kitagawa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,296 issued in 1996 to Jansen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,462 issued in 1958 to Stokes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,469 issued in 1980 to Luz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,895 issued in 1975 to Mize, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,783 issued in 1959 to Marks. These lures vary in the configuration of the nose or front end of the cylindrical body. The lures of Newell and Schriefer have symmetrical, elliptical noses, i.e., the noses are bullet-shaped. The lures of Floyd and McWethy, Jr., have perpendicular, fully planar noses. The lures of McWethy, Jr., Yoshii, West and Kitagawa have angled, fully planar noses. The Jansen lure has an angled, fully planar nose with a notch. The lures of Stokes and Luz have noses with two non-parallel, planar surfaces, and the lure of Mize has a fully concave and angled nose. The Marks lure has a bi-laterally symmetrical, concave nose divided along a vertical midline, where a small portion at the top of each of the lateral shoulders is rounded to the rear, as shown best in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, where the most forward portion of the head 14, identified before as a lateral shoulder, is shown as exposed rather than a cross-section.
The reason for the variation in the configuration of the noses of these lures is to produce an artificial lure which either travels more cleanly through the water, sheds seaweed or other plant matter more easily if the lure is pulled through such, causes the lure to dive, dart or move in a desired non-linear manner when pulled through the water, or produces combinations of some or all of the above. While the designs of the noses in the known patents produce such effects to one degree or another, the known lures do not possess a nose shape which optimizes the desired properties. In particular, the known lures do not perform optimally in an offshore environment, where swells and waves are often encountered during the fishing operation. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an artificial fishing lure shaped to simulate a squid, such that it possesses a cylindrically shaped body and a trailing skirt of flexible elongated streamers, wherein the configuration of the nose or front end of the body of the lure is such that the lure will dart erratically when drawn either along the surface through waves or beneath the surface, yet will not dive below a desired depth and which will readily shed any seaweed which is encountered. These objects, plus other objects not expressly stated, will be apparent upon examination of the disclosure to follow.
The invention is in general an artificial fishing lure having a generally squid-like configuration with a generally cylindrical or torpedo-shaped body and a trailing skirt of elongated, flexible streamer members. The forward end of the body is defined as the nose and is provided with a particular configuration to cause the lure to behave in a desired fashion as the lure is pulled through the water. The body comprises the nose, an annular shoulder located approximately midway along the body longitudinally, a cylindrical skirt plug to receive the skirt collar, and a small diameter coaxial bore for attachment of the line or leader. The skirt is preferably formed of a flexible plastic material and comprises an annular collar for attachment to the skirt plug of the main body and a relatively large number of thin, elongated streamer members which extend rearward from the skirt collar.
The nose of the body is comprised of two major surfacesxe2x80x94a planar face disposed at an angle of approximately 45 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the body and a convex or rounded portion. The planar surface meets the rounded surface along a curved line which does not intersect the axial bore, such that the forward opening of the axial bore is fully disposed in the planar surface. The rounded surface is most preferably formed as a portion of a sphere and extends rearward only a short distance. The planar surface extends rearward a greater distance than the rounded surface.